And lest you think that pink was the only questionable clothing choice of the evening…

Yeah. There’s that, too. The belt really completes the outfit.

BPaul tried on approximately 435 coats. I’m pretty sure he ruled out at least 3 or 4, and he’ll probably settle on a final choice right around the time the national debt gets paid off.

In the realm of demo bikes to ride, they had the aforementioned Beargrease and Krampii, and a host of fatbikes from XL Pugs, Neck Romancers, Moonlanders and Mukluks, all the way down to a 14″ Pugsley. You can’t help but smile.

Beth…you really need that bike. It is sooooo you.

And if you had questions, they could be answered by none other than Salsa’s own E-Fred:

Or you could hear about how the fuzzy lining on the inside of Windstopper is made from the hair of shaved, free-range Unicorns from Brendan Gore-Cik.

Or maybe you have a light question for Knog’s Brian Mark…

So yeah, a night full of awesome. New products to ogle, information to learn, things to see, things to try. I can’t convey all of the information received, but here are a few Gore highlights:

The gore membrane used in Windstopper and Goretex are related fabrics. The Windstopper is a bit more porous, but still waterproof. Windstopper doesn’t have taped seams, so they don’t market it as waterproof…and it’s more breathable than straight Goretex.

They had a demo where you’d get your hand wet, and stick your wet hand in a goretex gloveliner. You’d then put your wet hand, in the glove, in a bucket of water. You would then move your hand around vigorously.

I kid you not…when you pulled your hand out, it was dry. I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t see it.

Seriously. Moving your hand generated heat, which turned the water on your hand into vapor, and the Goretex transferred that vapor away from your hand, directly into a bucket of water. Ridiculous.

Brendan used a great metaphor for Goretex…he said it’s like a chain link fence. On the outside, water is the size of a softball, and thus cannot get through the fence. But on the inside, sweat vapor is smaller, like a golfball, and can pass through the fence. Makes sense, and was a great analogy to consider.

I kind of feel like I’m rambling right now, but there was so much information to learn and absorb. It was truly a great evening. I ride outside a lot, and have read a ton about Gore clothes…turns out, I haven’t scratched the surface.

I cannot emphasize enough how awesome it is to have a local bike shopable to pull together events like this, and get experts and information like this.